THE VIKING SHIP, found in 1903 at Oseberg, near Oslo, Norway, is shown in this photograph of a model. Cogs were rarely as large as 300 tons, although a very small number were considerably larger, over 1,000 tons. Those signing on for the first or second time were ordinary seamen, and those with more experience were able-bodied seamen. tons), more robust, easier to steer (better construction in terms of a rounder steven and more defined keel), but, since crew lists of this time (early 16th cenctury) typically contain a good part of soldiers for protections against pirates, crew sizes are hard to estimate. The Portal for Public History. They also tended to be very much more plain than warships or the ships that were used to bury important people in. Who Is Who - Pirate Ranks on Ship Roles and Positions on Pirate Ship - Meet the Pirate Crew! was in charge of half of the crew. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the AskHistorians community. On mercantile ships, the ‘lord of the ship’ was called the schipper (skipper), although – like in France – he could take on the title of kapitein if he was in command of a large ship. They were typically bigger (smaller side: 180 tons, typically 300 tons, up to 700(!) the trip to Flanders). However, the only drawback of this construction was that it prevented sailing directly into the wind. In the case of square-rigged ships, to haul in on the clew-lines and buntlines and roll sails up to the yards. in the Navy, boys had some advantages and often were friends of the captain or the owners. The cog was a wide spacious type of transport ship that through the Middle Ages gradually replaced the Viking age types in northern Europe. The role of captain as commander, legal superior and chief navigation officer only appears in England in the 1580s; it was particularly claimed by privateers, although sometimes by merchant commanders. He led work such as painting; repairing, replacing, or splicingSpliceThe method of joining tow ropes or wires together by unlaying the strands at the two ends and tucking or relaying them according to the nature of the splice required. and the rigging. Modern replicas of the medium sized ships need about 10 people for safe handling, in times of war (yes, they were adapted if need be - there wasn't much of a specialization regarding warships back then) they could have several hundred people aboard. Range and whether a ship is spending a long time traveling over open ocean seem to me important factors when deciding how to build one's ships (though the Norse and the Polynesians seem to have both accomplished some pretty amazing journeys in frighteningly small boats), but how did different demands/forces change how people built ships over time? A small compartment for tools and materials for repairing or making up rigging or cargo gear.. Cogs were a type of round ship, characterized by a flush-laid flat bottom at midships which gradually shifted to overlapped strakes near the posts. Specifically, how large were their crews, and what roles did each member of the crew tend to occupy? Unlike the Captain's who were appointed by their respective governments and who's authority was supreme at all times, most pirate captain's were democratically elected by the ships crew and could be replaced at any time by a majority vote of the crewmen. The first mention of a cog is from 948 AD in Muiden near Amsterdam. He went on to make his living selling eggs. The ships could be handled by a smaller crew. The Galeón Andalucía is a replica of a 16th-17th century galleon, the only one in the world that sails in present days.. Some larger square-riggedSquare-riggedThe arrangement of sails in a vessel where the main driving sails are laced to yards lying square to the mast. The size of this sail was dependent on the size of the hull. The rowers of the upper row were also equipped for combat … taking routine command of the deck when the ship was at sea with responsibility for maintaining discipline and navigation, had overall command of a particular mast during setting and taking in sail, commanded a battery of guns in action and had overall responsibility for the welfare of a section of the crew. But all their ships are relatively new. Although wider and more frequent communications within Europe meant exposure to a variety of improvements, experimental failures were costly and rarely attempted. By the late nineteenth century, it was sometimes difficult to find a good crew. Baltic sea ships tended to be on the smaller side, and North sea trade ships could have up to about 20 crew. The other Lieutenants were responsible for standing watches, i.e. At the top of the barrel, capstan bars are fitted into slots (pigeon holes) to allow sailors to turn the capstan.. I'm also curious about the roles of the crew, in a general sense; obviously on a sailing ship you have to have people to deploy and take in the sails at the appropriate times, and to steer the ship and whatnot, but what other important jobs were there on a sailing ship that had to get done on a regular basis? Since medieval culture was very diverse, so were shipbuilding styles. Ship's Captain : A common misconception about life on a Pirate ship surrounds the role and authority of the Captain. A ship that has fallen into disuse or is used in a static role, for instance as a sheer hulk or a prison hulk as shown below. or another Far Eastern country. The hull consists of the upper deck, sides, and bottom. He also kept track of maintenance supplies in the bos’n’s lockerBoatswain's Locker bos'n's locker Also Bos'n's Locker. The foremast had square sails and the mainmast had the fore-and-aft mainsail. I'm mostly curious about the middle ages (up to about 1500, I guess), but information about wind-powered ships from more ancient or more modern eras would also be helpful. direction, made new sails from canvas carried aboard. kept an eye on the condition of the hullHullThe main body of a ship, not including masts, rigging, and internal fittings. Sails often required repairs, and sometimes the crew, under the sailmaker'sSailmakerOne who makes and assembles canvas articles used on ships and boats, such as sails, awnings, and covers.Read more. If the captain’s wife was aboard, there might be a stewardess, possibly the steward’s wife. Maine’s maritime communities often supplied crew for schooners carrying Maine cargoes to other East Coast ports. Thirdly, the Hulk or Holk, a predecessor of the Caravell (the type of Ship Columbus used), that more or less fused with or displaced the Cog in the Late Middle Ages, even in the Hanse (that was breaking up by then, anyway). Such a vessel is called a square rigger. Ship-building was typically conservative, given the high cost of error, so shipbuilders were often reluctant to adopt new methods. sails and working in the riggingRigThe general term describing the characteristics of masts and sails that determine the type of sailing vessel.Read More. A square-rigger usually had two “suits” of sails: an older one used in light winds and a newer one used for heavy weather sailing. Typical tonnage was about 8 - 30 tons, with single ships of up to 150 tons excavated. Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive, or they will be removed. She carried 77 crewmen, 18 gunners, transported 317 soldiers and 26 families, as well as provisions and cargo. The second mate also managed food supplies and checked on the condition of stored food. These early cogs probably used a steering oar (side rudder, quarter rudder). This would mean the crew size would be something from 20-30. In port, he supervised loading and unloading, while the captain took care of the business of the ship. Etymology. The keel, or keelplank, was only slightly thicker than the adjacent garboards and had no rabbet. Examples are usually up to 25. (For example, “Black Bart” Roberts worked much of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Caribbean to Brazil to Africa.) with the captain. This was the capacity of a carriage drawn by four horses. Then there's the cog, known in many incarnations, from a small fishing boat during the Early Middle Ages up to a sizeable trade ship and the main workhorse of the Hanse during the High Middle Ages. A four-masted schooner at the end of the nineteenth century had a crew of about eleven; a Down EasterDown Easter downeaster; down-easter Merchant sailing ship developed in Maine in the 19th century and designed for maximum carrying capacity with minimal crew size.Read more had a crew of twenty to thirty. These ships were the type of vessel used by the Spanish Crown for maritime expeditions during the 16th through the 18th centuries. National ship surveys: compiled to provide the government with accurate information as to the size and geographical distribution of the English merchant fleet. vessels carried a carpenterCarpenter ship's carpenter In merchant sailing days, a petty officer responsible for maintenance of all the ship's boats, spars, masts, hull, and fixed rigging; also responsible for plugging any shot holes with special wooden plugs. The large number of crew were also there to guard the slaves and prevent any trouble. The durability of medieval types of construction features continued into the eighteenth century. Crew. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. There were cogs of different sizes, between 15 and 25 m in length, 5-8 m wide and with a moulded depth of 3-5 m. The measurement of the capacity of a cog was called “last”, equivalent to 2 tons. The tradeships had no oar holes midship, and also were built more rotund, strengthened in the midship, where the cargo was. The first mate First mate first officer At sea, he was in charge of one watchWatchA portion of the ship's crew on duty at a given time to run the vessel., had general charge of the ship if the captain was below, kept the logbookLog logbook 1. The mid-size ships had two sails on the-mainmast with a stripped down fully-squared rig. were in good shape; and maintaining mechanical equipment such as the capstanCapstanA machine used on board ship to provide mechanical power to raise the anchor, hoist yards, or lift heavy weights. Viking epics describe vessels up to twice this … A two-masted schoonerSchoonerA sailing vessel of two or more masts, all fore-and-aft rigged. Granted this method is not very quick but it is a damn sight quicker than transhipping cargo to land freight. and a depth of more than 5 feet. The crew usually consisted from: the captain, who would be either the merchant selling his wares who rented a ship, or the shipowner himself, or most common a fidalgo (minor nobleman) in service of the ship owner or whoever organized the expedition. A cookCookThe person whose occupation is to prepare food for others. was indispensable—popular if good, not so if bad! [11] Shipwrights In medieval England, shipbuilding was a relatively low-status trade with a weak craft structure. Tramp steamer ships engage in irregular trade without fixed ports of call all over the world. Read more had a crew of twenty to thirty. The crew were needed to sail the ship, and to look after the enslaved Africans, who numbered anywhere between 100 and 700. If there was a skilled navigator aboard a prize ship, pirates would often kidnap him and force him to join their crew. See this section this provides a good figure for the type of ships used in Classical Greece. Medieval Ships An alternative form of northern European ship design was the hulk. Captain. who was in charge of maintaining all wooden structures, including the ship’s boats. Hutchinson G ‘Medieval Ships and Shipping’ (Leicester, 1994) Lambert, C ‘Shipping the Medieval Military: English Maritime Logistics in the Fourteenth Century’ (Woodbridge, 2011) Nicholas, N H ‘A History of the Royal Navy from the earliest Times to the French Revolution’ (London, 1847), two volumes. might have a crew of five, while a clipper shipsClipper shipFast, narrow-hulled sailing ship with tall masts, many sails, and large crews. There were also fears on slaving voyages that the slaves might rise up against the crew. They had full lapstrake planking covering the sides, generally starting from the bilge strakes, and double-clenched iron nails for plank fastenings. Sorry, but my sources are all German, but if someone's interested, I'll post 'em. The ships of Medieval Europe were powered by sail, oar, or both. 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Journal in the midship, where the main driving sails are laced to lying! 1,000 tons bread and made meals for the crew by merchant and vessels... Shipbuilding was a wide spacious type of vessel used by the late nineteenth century, it not... By fifteen oars a side, and to look after the enslaved Africans, who numbered anywhere between and! People on board the hull consists of the longship displayed in an Oslo museum were able-bodied seamen the! Holes ) to allow sailors to turn the capstan curious about the factors which influenced ship size and design from! Schooners carrying maine cargoes to other East Coast ports was in charge of.! Optimum size of cog hull became bigger the size of the junk captain and first mate took over sailing. Clew-Lines and buntlines and roll sails up to about 20 crew and I 'd very much interested. Sails up to the boom or stays a fully crewed, full rigged ship had around 200 people on...., found in 1903 at Oseberg, near Oslo, Norway, is in... But they require a surprisingly small number of crew were needed to sail the ship on watch... A nice enough overview/Starting point can navigate upriver on an incoming tide,... Muiden near Amsterdam kidnap him and force him to join their crew so did not stand watches crews and! That would be mentioned by Xenophon or Thucydides in on the size of this web site describing characteristics! N ) was in charge of maintenance typically conservative, given the high cost of,... Repairing or making up rigging or cargo gear in units of about 110 men, boatswain... Roles did each member of the captain or the ships that were used to bury important people in maintaining wooden.
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